Management Team

Khilna

Khilna Dodhia, CEO

Khilna is highly passionate about the delivery of affordable clean electricity in Sub Saharan Africa through commercial solutions, which drives her vision for Kenergy to be a regional leader in the renewable power sector. She has 13 years of solid experience in the development of 2GW of utility scale renewable energy power plants across Europe and Africa.

Khilna sets the company's overall strategy and oversees the team’s performance. She has led the company to raise $2M of early stage financing through a strong network of European and Kenyan angel investors and grant financing and $22M of project equity. Khilna has been active in the renewable energy industry since 2004 and has a comprehensive understanding of the project lifecycle process from development to project financing through to power project operations. She previously spent five years working in Europe with Airtricity where she specialised in EPC contract negotiation.

Khilna was previously a Board Member of Renewable World East Africa, an NGO working to alleviate poverty through renewable energy solutions. She currently serves as a Board Member on several private entities. Khilna received a Masters in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, a Masters in Renewable Energy from the Ecole des Mines de Paris and an MBA from INSEAD.

 

 

Advisory Board Profiles

Kenergy’s Advisory Board consists of highly successful European renewable energy developers, a well-known Africa power sector investor and a well reputed Kenyan industrialist who has invested heavily in Kenya.

Brian Hurley and Louis Fitzgerald are successful renewable energy developers/investors. They were two of the five founders of the Future Wind Partnership in 1997, which subsequently became Airtricity in 1998. Airtricity was an early stage wind farm development business working across Europe, China and North America. Airtricity’s North American business was sold to E.ON in 2007 for $1.4 billion. Following on, Airtricity was sold in 2008 for €1.8 billion to Scottish and Southern Energy providing its shareholders with supernormal returns. Brian and Louis played a major role in Airtricity’s growth to a €1.8 billion company.

Andrew Reicher is a seasoned Africa power sector investor having worked with some of the best known power sector players. He brings invaluable experience in the financing of power generation projects and a strong understanding of the energy sector on the continent.

Archna Bulsara manages and operates multiple cross sector businesses in Africa. She brings deep market insight, a strong local business network and family ties with over 7 decades of business experience in Kenya.

Please click on the photos for more information on the Advisory Board’s members.

Louis Fitzgerald

Louis has been involved in the global renewable energy industry for over 15 years. During his time at Airtricity, Louis held the roles of Financial Director, Head of Corporate & Strategic Development and Chairman of the Investment and Risk Committees. He was involved in all aspects of the financial management and commercial development of the company.

His achievements at Airtricity include, corporate equity fundraising  (5 rounds 2002-2006), structuring innovative corporate debt instruments, project financing including the first merchant wind farm financed with non-recourse 15 year debt and the corporate negotiations of all major contracts including equity, debt, investments, joint ventures and procurement. Louis led the introduction of strategic partner (NTR plc) to establish Airtricity (1999) and the disposal of US business (2007) and European business (2008).

Since the sale of Airtricity, Louis has retired from executive activities. He is a founder, trustee and ambassador of Renewable World, the Chairman of The Community Foundation of Ireland and is involved in various other ventures.

Prior to Airtricity, Louis held a number of senior financial roles. Between 1989 and 1992, he was the Financial Director at Ardagh Plc. Before 1989 Louis held the roles of Financial Controller, Company Secretary and Financial Director within a Private Investment Fund with over 20 investments.

Louis has been a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland since 1971.

Brian Hurley

Brian has been involved in the renewable energy industry since 1980. At Airtricity, Brian set up and headed the Wind Analysis, Research and Standards Department, which was responsible for evaluating the wind resource on all Airtricity sites, which spanned China, Europe and North America. He then became the Chief Scientist at Airtricity, a position he held until 2008.

Brian has carried out significant research on the wind resource across the globe and has published numerous papers on the subject. Between 1983 and 1994, Brian was a Council Member of the European Wind Energy Association. Brian has played a key role in progressing the wind industry’s knowledge and understanding of the wind resource.

Brian has also been involved in philanthropic work. Between 1989 and 1994 he was the Chairman of Energy Action Ltd., a registered charity thermally up-grading the homes of the needy elderly.

Since his time at Airtricity, Brian has set up Wind Site Evaluation, a consultancy which enables developers to identify and evaluate wind farm sites.

Brian is a physicist by qualification and commenced his career lecturing in the Engineering Facility at the Dublin Institute of Technology during the 1970s.

Andrew Reicher

Andrew Reicher, former CIO and Head of Infrastructure at CDC/Actis, is an experienced investor and adviser in climate-resilient electricity in developing countries, with over 25 years of private equity investment experience. He is currently Chairman of Berkeley Energy Africa and a business angel investor in renewable energy, sustainable forestry and businesses trying to broaden electricity access in Africa.

His other current roles are as a trustee of WWF-UK, the conservation charity, and Global Villages Energy Partnership, an electricity access charity. Andrew also serves as an adviser to Eiser Infrastructure, a leading European infrastructure private equity fund manager and on the investment committee of Virgin Green Fund Emerging Markets, a cleantech fund for Eastern Europe.

From 2009-11, Andrew headed the secretariat of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, a multilateral organisation working to increase private sector investment in infrastructure and emerging markets in Africa and Asia.

Andrew previously worked with the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) and then the private equity firm Actis when it was spun out of CDC, as Chief Investment Officer, Head of the first Actis Infrastructure Fund and later, CEO of Globeleq, the electricity generation company operating in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Prior to CDC, Andrew worked with Credit Suisse First Boston, Botts & Company and Citicorp. He has a BA in Economics from Cambridge University, and a MA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Archna Bulsara

Archna Bulsara is part of an industrial enterprise that owns and manages a diverse range of businesses and investments in Africa, Asia and Europe. She has over fifteen years of experience in finance, audit, operations and strategic planning across the manufacturing, finance and the real estate sectors. She currently is an Executive Director of several companies that employ thousands of people across Africa. Some of the many companies she represents as a Director include Riley Dodhia Packaging Limited which is the leading corrugated box manufacturer in East Africa, Paramount Chief Estate Limited which is one of the largest real estate development projects for middle class housing in Kenya and Occidental Insurance Company, providing insurance services across the board.

Archna is a firm believer of giving back to society. She currently holds positions of trustee and office bearer to many not-for-profit institutions which help the needy, promote education and protect the environment. These institutions include the Khimasia Foundation and the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi Fund.

Archna has been a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales since 2006.